Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/562

Rh 544 CAESAR. It is not attributing any great foresight to Cae- sar to suppose, that he already saw that the strug- gle betv/een the different parties at Rome must eventually be terminated by the sword. The same causes were still in operation which had led to the civil wars between Marius and Sulla, which Caesar had himself witnessed in his youth ; and he must have been well aware that the aristocracy would not hesitate to call in the assistance of the sword if they should ever succeed in detaching Pompey from his interests. It was therefore of the first importance for him to obtain an army, which he miffht attach to himself by victories and rewards. But he was not dazzled by the wealth of Asia to ob- tain a command in the East, for he would then have been at too great a distance from Rome, and would gradually have lost much of- his influence in the city. He therefore wisely chose the Gallic provinces, as he would thus be able to pass the winter in the north of Ital}', and keep up his com- munication with the city, while the disturbed state of Further Gaul promised him sufficient materials for engaging in a series of wars, in which he might employ an army that would afterwards be devoted to his purposes. In addition to these considera- tions, Caesar was doubtless actuated by the desire of finding a field for the display of those military tilents which his campaign in Spain shewed that he possessed, and also by the ambition of subduing for ever that nation which had once sacked Rome, and which had been, from the earliest times, more or less an object of dread to the Roman stite. The consuls of the following year (b. c, 58), L. Calpumius Piso and A. Gabinius, were devoted to Caesar's interests; but among ^the praetors, L. Domitius Ahenobarbus and C. Memmius at- tempted to invalidate the acts of Caesar's con- sulship, but without success. Caesar remained a short time in the city, to see the result of this attempt, and then left Rome, but was immediately accused in his absence by the tribune Antistius. This accusation, however, was dropped ; and all these attempts against Caesar were as ill-advised as they were fruitless, since they only shewed more strongly than ever the weakness of his adversaries. But although Caesar had left Rome, he did not go straight to his province; he remained with his army three months before Rome, to support CIo- dius, who had passed over from the patricians to the plebs in the previous year, was now tribune, and had resolved upon the ruin of Cicero. Towards the latter end of April, Cicero went into exile without waiting for his trial, and Caesar then pro- ceeded forthwith into his province. During the next nine years Caesar was occupied with the subjugation of Gaul. In this time he conquered the whole of Transalpine Gaul, which had hitherto been independent of the Romans, with the exception of the part called Provincia ; he twice crossed the Rhine, and carried the terror of the Roman arms across that river, and he twice landed in Britain, which had been hitherto un- known to the Romans, To give a detailed account of these campaigns would be impossible in the limits of this work ; we can only offer a very brief sketch of the principal events of each year, Caesai- left Rome, as has been already remarked, towards tlie latter end of April, and arrived at Geneva in eight days. His first campaign was against the Helvetii, a powerful Gallic people situ- ated to the north of the lake of Geneva, and be- CAESAR. twecn the Rhine and mount Jura. He had heard before leaving Rome that this people had intended to migrate from their country into Western or Southern Gaul, and he had accordingly made all the more haste to leave the city. TheVe were only two roads by which the Helvetii could leave their country — one across mount Jura into the country of the Sequani (Franche Comte), and the other across the Rhone by the bridge of Geneva, and then through the northern part of the Roman province. Since the latter was by far the easier of the two, they marched towards Geneva, and requested permission to pass through the Roman province ; but, as this was refused by Caesar, and they were unable to force a passage, they proceeded northwards, and, through the mediation of Dum- norix, an Aeduan, obtained permission from the Sequani to march through their country. Caesar, apprehending great danger to the Roman province in Gaul, from the settlement of the Helvetii in its immediate neighbourhood, resolved to use every effort to prevent it. But having only one legion with him, he hastened back into Cisalpine Gaul, summoned from their winter quarters the three legions at Aquiloiii, levied two new ones, and with these five crossed the Alps, and came into the country of the Segusiani, the first independent people north of the province, near the modem town of Lyons. When he arrived there, he found that the Helvetii had passed through the country of the Sequani, and were now plundering tlie territories of the Aedui. Three out of their four clans had already crossed the Arar (Saone), but the fourth was still on the eastern side of the river. This clan, called Tigurinus, was unexpectedly surprised by Caesar, and cut to pieces. He then threw a bridge across the Arar, and went in pursuit of the enemy. His progress, however, was somewhat checked by the defeat, a day or two afterwards, of the whole body of his cavalry, 4000 in number, levied in the province and among the Aedui, by 500 Helvetian horsemen. He therefore followed them more cauti- ously for some days, and at length fought a pitched battle with them near the town 'of Bibracte (Au- tun). The battle lasted from about mid-day to sunset, but the Helvetii, after a desperate con- flict, were at length defeated with great slaughter. After resting his troops for three days, Caesar went in pursuit of the enemy. Unable to offer any further resistance, they surrendered unconditionally to his mercy, and were by him commanded to return to their former homes. When they left their native country, their number Avas 368,000, of whom 92,000 were fighting-men ; but upon returning to Helvetia, their number was found to have been reduced to 110,000 persons. This great victory soon raised Caesar's fame among the various tribes of the Gauls, who now sent embassies to congratulate him on his success, and to solicit his aid. Among others, Divitiacus, one of the most powerful of the Aeduan chiefs, infoiTned Caesar that Ariovistus, a GeiTnan king, had been invited by the Arverni and Sequani to come to their assistance against the Aedui, be- tween whom and the Arverni there had long been a struggle for the supremacy in Gaul. He further stated, that not only had the Aedui been again and again defeated by Ariovistus, but that the German king had seized upon a great part of the land of the Sequani, and was still bringing over fresh swarms of Gennans to settle in the Gallic